Korean Zombie Facing A Year Out After Surgeries On Shoulder And Eye

It certainly seems like the injury bug is still going strong in MMA, as The Korean Zombie takes a year’s worth in his UFC 163 title bout fight against Featherweight champ Jose Aldo.

KZ suffered a dislocated shoulder and a fractured orbital bone in his title attempt, injuries that will likely see the 145 lb. contender out for a year or more.

A broken foot also accompanied the injuries, both requiring surgery. That’s a laundry list of nasty war wounds for Jung to deal with. Having recently been out of action for 15 months due to shoulder surgery, a 12-month layoff could be an optimistic figure.

In the wake of the fight, Aldo also suffered a broken foot, as well as a hospitalising case of kidney stones. Maybe they should have called this fight ‘The Great War’, and it may well have had that label if it wasn’t so anticlimactic.

Of course all this depends on how fast KZ recovers, according to his manager Brian Rhee:

“Most likely, he’ll be out a year,” Rhee said, “but that depends on how rehab goes.”

After receiving the title shot due to Anthony Pettis’ injury, KZ has paid a high price. Pettis went on to replace TJ Grant at UFC 164′s main event against Benson Henderson. Noticing a pattern here?

So what’s the best move for the 145lb. division now? I think that Aldo should go up to 155 for the winner of Pettis vs. Bendo, and open the FW division up for the long queue of contenders waiting there. What do you think?

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Man, the MMA world was KZ's oyster after he beat Poirier and now it looks like he will have only 1 fight and a loss at that in almost a 3 year span.
Sad news – huge chunk of his prime and hype gone.

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When fighters are out that long. I almost dont care about their records. I think how the hell is this guy going to support his family?

I really hope the insurance covers him over seas if not Dana better not just kick him to the curb and tell him to come back when hes better.

My 2 cents is. Aldo's cut is too painful and it's effecting his performance. Id hate to see Aldo lose because he's too sapped from his weight cut. I say move aldo up to LW. Then UFC run's its first ever FW super tourny. They could put together 8 fighters to have 3 events over the next year to see who is the new undisputed FW champion.

Move Aldo up to get the super fight they want so bad. Then fill it out with 4 fights with the quarter finals. Just do it Pride style. Build up the story. Sports fans love play offs!

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Shame about the Zombie, he's a tough dude. I'm guessing the orbital bone got broken after his shoulder went and Aldo started wailing on him. It's impressive that he didn't give up and kept trying to pop his shoulder back.

As far as Aldo moving up, as long as he has no problem making 145, I think he'll stay there. He's the champ. Why give up a belt for a chance at another one?